Monday, 27 May 2013

Mercedes: Brilliant Brand Experience.

A friend in need is a friend Indeed. Old adage for sure, but
still holds true. More and more brands are trying to be your friend, being
there when you need them the most.

Moscow, Russia, where people are obsessed about big cars and
owning a small car is not socially appreciated, parking problem has escalated.
On weekends, it goes bad to worse leaving people with no choice but to park
illegally. Vehicles get towed and people running after the authorities are
often the visuals on Russian streets.

Big cars + Parking problem = Chaos +
frustration.

Super cars to the rescue

Following Chevrolet’s “Rescue
Drive” and MINI’s “cars turned
stores” intelligent test drive campaigns, Mercedes’ isn’t behind too. Making
them understand the importance of smaller cars with their new Rescue
Smart cars, Mercedes acted as a Superhero for them, who comes to the rescue of people in their
times of misery (when vehicles get towed and people are left in the lurch) and
drops them to their destination. This campaign drew out accolades on Social
Media, followed by bloggers and news portals who further accentuated the
brand’s positive move

In less than 3 days,
623 people were rescued. Test drives increased by 10% and Sales went up by 300%
in just two weeks. Mercedes’ move created a positive Brand image which
reflected reliability, care and empathy for people and indirectly advocating
the use of smaller cars (Rescue cars) in a big car obsessed country.

Indian case

Do you envision this kind of service in India? Will people
actually appreciate the move and post their good experiences on Social Media?
Will the companies want to shell out bucks for this kind of campaign where they
want to be a more as a friend rather than just a car company?
Growing traffic and hence parking problems are indeed creating mess all around.
Though, small cars have the largest number of buyers but growing number of cars
and less space for parking is definitely the concern leading to cars getting
towed every now and then. Many a brands are trying to tap on the positive side
of life and helping people in achieving their dreams. This way, they get
associated with good deeds for society and simultaneously push their brand.

Indians do spread a word if they like something. It’s been a
long tradition that Indians are too close to even the shops where they buy
grocery stuff from, they talk to each other, and they suggest to their peers
(especially ladies and lady drivers are increasing too).

Cracking markets is a tedious job but cracking the mindset
of customers…. Hell tough. More and more brands are trying to be friendly with
their customers, being there when they need them the most. But what if you have
to change customers thinking process and decide as to what they should buy.
Personally no one likes radical change.